Reviews by k-dot-r

Brilliant, and a clear influence on a bunch of artists I love

So 80s it hurts, not my thing at all. The power of love is good, the cover versions are all very odd and feel like filler, much of the rest is pretty rubbish.

Sunny chilled reggae goodness - to put a smile on your face and a song in your heart

Classic

Beautiful and delicate

Absolutely does not need so many interludes, but the songs are ok. Influenced her brother, which I'm sure she loved, and was surprisingly (to me) huge when it was out. She's touring again soon, but I'll not be rushing out to see her.

A cracker of an album, with a stand-out track (Stay with Me) which is almost deserving of five stars on its own.

Not my JAM(s), and don't quite qualify for a Scottish point. I'm sure it was very exciting at the time, but it all comes across very clever-clever, and pretentiously and meticulously planned, in retrospect. Still better than some of the dreck on the list though!

Great background music, with lots of lovely wee details if you listen more closely. Not really my thing, but perhaps it could be.

Absolute genius - would have been close to full marks even without the Scottish bonus point! Every song tells a story or evokes a feeling (or both!) and his influence is still being felt to this day - even by artists who may never have directly experienced his work.

A cracker for a sunny day, with a great mix of genres and styles, and some wonderful guest vocalists. Sounds much more modern than when it was out - especially "Alegria, Alegria", which has had quite the story!
I really enjoyed the whole album, and will explore more Latin American music once I have the time.

An absolutely bizarre album, which I liked (a bit) in much the same way you might like a blockbuster movie - just turn your brain off and submit. This will not live long in the memory, and probably doesn't deserve to be on the list. However, it is perhaps worthy as as an example of what was going on when music was largely being written by weirdoes!

Part of the fabric of life in the UK in the 90s, but still with a few lesser known tracks as well. This is a low was a highlight for me; one of my favourite blur songs, and of course the title track is one of the great memes of our time. An absolute joy to revisit, and a reminder of how good the charts of the era could be!

classic, but not quite as good as its reputation might suggest. Wild horses is an all time great, Brown sugar is probably problematic nowadays (but good if you ignore that), can't you hear me knocking is pretty good (if too long), rest of it could be considered filler. Blues influence is clear (at least compared with what the Stone became)

a bland collection of safe covers, by an artist with far more to say than just using old songs. they are well sung, arranged and produced, but it all feels a bit of a waste of time - his as much as mine. possibly a contract fulfiller?

just noise and nonsense lyrics, and a long way short of Johnny's previous band. the (sort of) title track has about 20 times more plays than anything else, and is probably more like 50 times as good!

Wonderful - the sound of a singer-songwriter really coming out of her shell and embracing new sounds and styles

An album about (his) divorce, but manages to shy away from whining, blaming, crying or complaining. Beautifully sung, but drags a wee bit and does not really need to be over 70 minutes long!

The "Sgt. Pepper of hip-hop" according to some, but possibly drags a little unlike the Sgt. Pepper of rock. Very very good, and an absolute cornerstone of modern rap music - especially in the way they used samples. The "B-Boy Bouillabaisse" suite, while overlong as one song, shows a whole other way of doing hip-hop, more akin to the end of the second side of Abbey Road

A great album, one of the bets of that year, but still a fair way short of his very best work. A solid 5, but no more. An album that certainly bears many (many) repeat listens